Day 2 Post-Op

Otis is not yet home with us, but I've been speaking with the hospital every day. Here's a rundown of what we heard yesterday and today:

Friday morning--Otis was doing very well, and he was still on the IV pain medication. The techs were using the sling to help him get around and he was putting a tiny bit of weight on his right foot, which was expected. He wasn't eating well, but that's normal. They adjusted his pain medication in case he was nauseous.

Friday evening--Otis was *still* doing very well, and by the evening, he was eating and drinking normally. The tech told me that he was the sweetest puppy, and very mellow. That's our Otis. :-)

Saturday morning--Otis is again doing great. He's using his leg, eating and drinking normally and was on oral pain meds finally. Apparently, you need to walk him very slowly so he's forced to use the leg, and when you do that, he puts a bit of weight down as he should. Our little man has gotten curious about his boo-boos, though, and he's licking them--so he's got one of those "cones of shame".

That's good news though, since we'll be crating him while we're at work. Better to be safe than sorry, I say. Lindsay told us that he loves to squeak his little skineeez rabbit, and she's surprised that he hasn't ripped the squeakers out of it yet. (That's because our baby loves his rabbit and doesn't want to "kill" it...he's a lover, not a fighter!)

On another note, he's being started on a new medication to "increase the contractility of his bladder". Apparently, a short-term side effect of this surgery is minor nerve damage. This nerve damage can cause difficulty with urination, such that he has a weak stream when he goes (sounds like a commercial for prostate medication to me, lol). This can cause damage to the bladder if it gets worse--but at this point, the medicine is just precautionary, and we'll have to keep an eye on him at home as well. We're on schedule for him to come home tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon. I can't wait to see my man-man!

Note: Found out last night that some colleagues of mine have an 8-year old Bernese Mountain dog who had this same surgery 7 years ago from the same surgeon. I played with her all evening, and she was jumping and bounding about. That makes me very hopeful and very happy. :-)